Big Ted's trip no picnic

Natural Elegance florist Kylie Lewin couldn't stop smiling when the $900 man-sized teddy bear was returned completely unharmed just in time for Valentine's Day.

"I did miss him, it was sad to think he was gone," Kylie said.

The Coffs Coast Advocate reported Big Ted's disappearance on the front page of Wednesday's paper and the story helped a reader locate the bear and take him back to the store.

Kylie said customers had been asking about the 6ft tall (182cm), 3ft wide (91cm) teddy since he absconded on Monday night, but when Big Ted was returned on Wednesday, her phone rang off the hook with people saying how great it was to see the bear back.

"He's so popular, we always have children coming up to the glass, wanting to touch him," she said.

"I just want to say thank you to the person who returned him."

Centro Toormina marketing manager Kylie Sagar said it was wonderful to see the big teddy bear come back home.

"Big Ted was quite an attraction so it wasn't suprising his disappearance became the talk of the centre," Ms Sagar said.

Florist Kylie said if the teddy didn't sell, she was contemplating donating him to charity or the children's ward at the hospital due to his popularity.

Whatever the case, for now Big Ted is back in his favored spot for all to see.